Here's a poem and commentary from a poet from US 1 Worksheets Volume 66, Sally Walsh.
Surprises
mom’s diaphragm failed twice
I woke up here
small moist muscle
pulsing against mother earth
post-war Los Angeles late forties
stockings with seams if you could get ‘em
dad had been an army medic
next, in Texas, eighteen months later
little brother joined the playpen
we two alone against an adult world
preteen and our early closeness never
regained even with champagne
then mom died secrets exposed
time of long silence between us
one day I called him and we began again
dined together when I came home
later messages grew incoherent
his wife told me he fell
I miss him
Sally shares this about her poem "Surprises."
Our postwar family moved around a lot. I grew up in industrial northeastern Ohio, but I’ve lived in Princeton since 1982, longer than anywhere else. I became involved with the US 1 Poets Cooperative soon after moving here from Austin. My favorite poet/poem is John Ciardi’s Two Egrets. I’m semi-retired from public service law practice and have been working with Betty Lies’ Memoir group at the Princeton Senior Resource Center. Surprises arose from writing about my past and how it looks in retrospect.
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